The gazes of the two met in the air.
Emily pursed her scarlet lips and took a step down the stairs.
As she raised her eyes to speak, her gaze landed on the man's collar, adorned with conspicuous and piercing big red lipstick.
Emily's lips tightened. She reached for a tissue from the entryway cabinet, walked over, and gently said, "Bend down a little at the waist."
Gimson, unsure of her intentions, complied, bending over slightly.
Emily then wiped off the lipstick marks on his collar.
She raised her cool eyes, scrutinizing, and uttered, "Derek, let's have a nice chat."
"What do you want to chat about?" Gimson looked at Emily with interest, admiring her scarlet lips and slim figure. Even he had to admit that she was a first-class beauty.
He stepped forward and suddenly hooked Emily's chin. In the next second, he noticed a hint of disgust in Emily's eyes.
"You hate me?" Gimson asked in a low voice.
Emily smiled slightly, "Not hating, but the thought of you hooking your finger under my chin, having done the same to a dancer, makes me sick."
Gimson chuckled softly, "Don't worry, I only love you."
"Really? What about the lipstick on the collar?" Emily asked, sarcasm evident in her tone.
"The lipstick was accidentally rubbed on," Gimson explained patiently.
His tone and nonchalant movement only fueled Emily's revulsion, which she couldn't suppress.
She took a step back, but found herself wrapped by the man's arm at the waist.
He leaned in, close to her ears, and said, "Emily, this month I was too busy working and neglected you. It's my fault, and I apologize. Can you forgive me?"
In a trance, Emily seemed to see the Derek she once knew.
The man who loved, pampered, protected, and always respected her...
"Emily, I didn't not love you; I just don't know how to love you. Let's start over, okay?"
The man's two hands cupped her face, his thin lips a little closer.
Emily's brain suddenly went blank. Her body reacted before her reason and she dodged away to avoid the man's kiss.
Gimson failed to kiss her, and the hostility in his eyes surfaced and quickly disappeared.
"Good girl, don't resist." Gimson pressed her shoulders. His kiss, once again, fell.
Emily tried her best to repress the urge to run for her life, standing still and waiting for the kiss she wasn't looking forward to.
Suddenly! Her eyes flickered to the man under his collar...
His tie had been ripped open when he entered the room, and his shirt was unbuttoned twice, revealing a lean chest vaguely covered with scars, large and small. But Emily distinctly remembered Derek's chest being free of scars.
Her gaze held incredulity.
"You don't want it, huh?" At the same time, the man pulled her hard and suddenly ripped open her neckline.
Emily reacted by immediately pushing the man away with force, then slapped him hard across the face.
Emily stared at him angrily. "Derek, I don't understand why you've become a completely different person since you came back! All those vows you said in the beginning, were they all lies?"
The man's gloomy eyes gazed at her. "I don't want to explain."
Emily covered her collar. She spoke word by word, her voice getting colder and colder. "I don't expect you to be a good husband, but hopefully, you can try to assume the role of a father."
With that said, Emily turned to leave, went upstairs to her room, and locked the door behind her.
The light from the crystal lamps in the living room cast a glow on the man's shoulders, prompting Gimson to raise his hand to touch his slapped face.
After living for so many years, it was the first time he had been slapped by a woman.
"Gimson..." Emma's voice suddenly rang in the empty living room.
The man cast a cold eye over her. "Who are you calling?"
"I'm sorry, Derek," Emma's voice trembled. "Tell me, is your brother really dead? Is he truly gone?"
"He’s dead," the man's voice was gloomy. "So in this world, you only have me as your son left.”
Even if she had expected it, even if she had known the truth, Emma couldn't help but cry out in pain.
"Listen, if you want your grandchildren to be safe and sound, you must bury this secret in your stomach," the man's voice was somber.
Emma covered her lips and forced back her mournful sobs. She choked on her words and said in a broken voice, "Gimson. If you have any grudges, just come at me. Why did you do it to your own brother?"
"Don't call me Gimson anymore! There is no such person as Gimson in this world anymore!" Gimson suddenly roared out in anger.
He lit a cigarette, and it was only when the smoke entered his lungs that the irritation inside him was finally pushed down a bit.
"Mom, don't worry." Gimson slowly exhaled a smoke ring. The corners of his lips hooked up in an evil smile. "I was originally the Scott family's heir, and everything in the Scott family was supposed to belong to me. I will continue to carry on the glory of the Scott family. As for Emily and the four children..."
"What do you want?" Emma's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What can you do now?" Gimson threw his cigarette on the floor in annoyance. He lifted his foot to stamp out the sparks and said coldly, "Before I take my place as the president of the Scott Group, I will take care of my brother's wife and children for him, as long as they don't come to mess with me."
After saying that, he slammed the door and left.
Meanwhile, in her room, Emily lost in thought.
Fragments of thoughts surfaced in her mind.
While she hadn't noticed it earlier, upon reflection, she realized that many of the man's mannerisms, actions, and words didn't align with the old Derek.
Upon Derek's return from his business trip, he seemed like a different person.
Not only did his words and behavior change, but even the details of his daily habits were different.
Changing a person's character is challenging, and transforming it suddenly in a short time is nearly impossible.
There was only one plausible explanation...
Suddenly, Emily recalled Derek mentioning his twin brother.
With this realization, she finally connected the dots.
The man who resembled Derek but was entirely different was Gimson, the eldest son of the Scott family and Derek's true brother.
Then where was Derek?
Emily glanced at the fruit knife on the coffee table, tempted to confront Gimson immediately, but she restrained herself. Confronting him impulsively could endanger Derek if this was a well-planned and premeditated setup. She needed to proceed with caution.
She decided to bide her time. First and foremost, she had to determine Derek's whereabouts before taking any decisive action.